Artist of the Week - Logan Hicks

Anika Dačić graduated in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade and is currently pursuing MA in Literary and Cultural Studies. Her interests lie in social and cultural aspects of contemporary art production and she especially enjoys writing about street and urban art. Likes to knit, play adventure video games and host quiz nights at a local bar.

For any true street and urban art lover, the name Logan Hicks instantly calls to mind the astonishing urban landscapes executed in the meticulous and refined stenciling style. Without a single doubt, Logan Hicks is currently one of the leading figures among the stencil artists, and he is one of the artists who has certainly revolutionized this street art medium. With every single artwork, Hicks shows that there are no limitations when it comes to the art of stenciling and that this medium has so many undiscovered artistic potentials, way beyond the conventional wall tagging. The inspiration behind his works often comes from the artist’s surroundings and urban life settings and experiences. In recent times, Logan Hicks started exploring the notion of depth in his underwater photography endeavors and nautical imagery, which is one of the central points in the artist’s latest exhibition. To find out what it lies beyond the metaphor “calm before the storm” Logan Hicks has joined forces with Beau Stanton, for the celebration of maritime inspiration in New York.

Stencil Virtuoso Logan Hicks

Although he uses street art methods of expression like stencils and spray paint, Logan Hicks is not exactly a street artist, as he mostly creates his works in the studio and just occasionally on the public walls. One of the main reasons is the time-consuming nature of his artistic practice, as each of his pieces takes hundreds of hours of meticulous work, from the creation of numerous hand-cut stencils to the careful layering of colors. Moreover, let us not forget his photography works, the other significant part of his artistry and a cornerstone of his delicate photorealistic compositions. Because of his failure at screen-printing, something he humorously shares as an interesting aspect of his early work, he turned towards the more rewarding art of stenciling, inventing his unique approach and developing a style which brought him the respect of the peers and the street art community in general. From time to time, he does some street art pieces and just recently he was one of the participants in the No Limit Borås Festival in Sweden, creating an astonishing city landscape by night in his signature style.

Calm before the Storm in New York

After his trip to Europe, Logan Hicks is back in New York where his latest exhibition of studio works is taking place. Presenting his artworks with another illustrious artist Beau Stanton, Logan Hicks explores the maritime traditions, juxtaposing modern-day digital world we live in and the classical aesthetic canon. The Calm before the Storm exhibition title has worked out perfectly, encompassing a variety of related themes in the works of both artists, from Hicks’ exploration of peaceful moments in time before the substantial, life-changing events, to Stanton’s nautical iconography. Through the end of October, the visitors of the Highline Loft will be able to see an array of Hicks’ photorealistic aerosol works, and find out that Logan Hicks’ artistry needs even more respect than our Artist of the Week title can grant him.

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